Accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE)

Mission

To positively affect people’s lives by nurturing connections to the sacred through experiential education and spiritual care.

Vision

To create measurable and appreciable improvement in spiritual health that transforms people and communities in the US and across the globe.

Values

Diversity and inclusion - demonstrated through cultural humility, attentiveness and collegiality. Integrity - demonstrated through trust, respect and excellence. Curiosity - demonstrated through listening, experiential models, innovation and creativity. Process - demonstrated through action/reflection, listening, experiential and relational models. Service - demonstrated through compassion, authenticity and growth.

ACPE is nationally recognized as an accrediting agency in the field of clinical pastoral education by the U.S. Secretary of Education through the U.S. Department of Education.

Since ACPE formed in 1967 (as a merger of four CPE organizations), nearly 200,000 units of ACPE certified CPE have been offered to about 75,000 individuals from the United States and many other countries internationally.

Approximately 9,000 units of ACPE certified CPE are completed annually. CPE students come from many different ethnic and cultural groups. Individuals from many faith traditions -- Protestant, Roman Catholic, Judaism, Islam, Orthodox Christian, Native American religions and Buddhism -- have taken ACPE certified CPE.